Rossi turns on the style to set the MotoGP pace

Valentino Rossi, battling to regain the MotoGP world championship title, took a nine-point lead in the series when he won the second round in Jerez yesterday on his Fiat Yamaha.

The 28-year-old Italian, right, built a lead of more than three seconds before coasting across the line a little over a second clear of the Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa's Repsol Honda. Rossi's team-mate, the American Colin Edwards, filled the final podium place.

"This was an important victory, because the championship is long and now we have two difficult race tracks for us," Rossi said. Casey Stoner, the 21-year-old Australian who beat Rossi in the first round in Qatar, was fifth on his Marlboro Ducati.